Echo Flowers
by Khoshekh42
Summary: When Luke finds himself in a cave filled with echo flowers that repeat the last thing said around them, he hears a passing conversation he never expected to hear. Obikin. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

There were caves on the planet that Luke was on currently. He had no particular desire to explore them, but it was definitely better than the alternative, which at this point looked like getting attacked by a herd of… something. They were big, and had teeth, and that was enough to convince Luke that he wanted to stay away from them. So he ventured into the cave system, hoping to lose the pack of wild creatures on his tail and ready to kill him. It took surprisingly less time than he thought it would. It might have been because they had no sense of smell. They were some sort of desert creature that had excellent eyes, but no nose at all. Why they were on an island in the middle of an ocean was a question to Luke. Thankfully the cave had so many twists and turns that he could lose them quickly.

Luke stopped to catch his breath after running a couple more minutes after losing them, just to be sure. He glanced around at the caverns around him, and he could barely see a thing. From what he could see, it looked nobody had ever been inside the caves. As Luke's eyes started to grow adjusted to the dark cave, he could see a faint blue glow around the bend. It looked almost like the glow of his blue lightsaber. He figured since he had no idea how to get out of the caves, he might as well investigate.

They were flowers, glowing softly in the darkness, but looking really bright with how dark the rest of the caves were. He recognized them. They were called Echo Flowers. They would record, and echo back until someone says something else. Luke was now glad that he'd stayed quiet. He could really learn whether there had been anyone in these caves before. He leaned his ear close to the nearest flower.

He heard a passing conversation.

 _"Those fucking things. What were they?"_ The man sounded out of breath. Luke moved to the next flower

 _"Well I don't know."_ There was a second man speaking now, and he sounded really sarcastic and had a Coruscanti accent. " _Maybe if you'd listened to me, we wouldn't have been chased into this cave, and we'd be on our way, and not nearly killed and lost, Anakin."_ Luke froze. His father had been here? Did that mean that the other man there was Obi-Wan? Luke quickly moved on to the third flower.

 _"I never wanted to go to this fucking planet anyway._ That _was your idea."_ Anakin sounded bitter. Luke continued going from flower to flower, hearing the conversation in it's full.

 _"Anakin watch your language, you're supposed to be a Jedi."_

 _There was a snort from Anakin_ _"Like I didn't hear you swear when you stubbed your toe on the corner of your desk yesterday."_

 _"Where were_ you _during that? I thought you were supposed to be in the shower!"_

 _"Perhaps I actually_ finished _taking my shower in a reasonable time. Unlike_ someone _I know, Obi-Wan. Then I was about to step out when I heard you bang your foot on the desk, and swear loudly, and I died laughing, so I stayed in the shower for a couple more minutes until I calmed down."_

 _"…I really hate you Anakin."_

 _There was another laugh from Anakin. "Sure."_

The next couple of flowers were silent.

 _"Do you know how to get out of these caves, Obi-Wan?"_

 _"No. You shouldn't have riled up those things with the teeth. Then they wouldn't have chased up into the caves. And we wouldn't be_ lost _right now."_

 _"No need to get snappish with_ me." _Anakin spat somewhat bitterly._

 _"I'm sorry." Obi-Wan sounded quiet._

 _"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry. I'm just tired, and I'm really not happy about having to deal with all of this_ sand _."_

 _Obi-Wan laughed quietly. "Well at least it's calm in here."_

 _"Yeah."_

There was a whole stretch of Echo Flowers that were quiet.

 _"Hey. Obi-Wan? Can I ask you something?"_

 _"What is it?"_

 _"Why can't Jedi get married?"_

 _There was a sigh from Obi-Wan. "Were a Jedi to experience the loss that comes with losing the object of their affections, they might be overcome with such anger that they turn to the dark side. You know this." He sounded like he was reciting something from a textbook._

 _Anakin growled. "It's still bullshit though."_

 _Obi-Wan sighed again. "It's the rule of the Jedi council. There's nothing that you can do to change that right now. You can't be with Padme. I'm sorry."_

 _"What?" Anakin sounded surprised._

 _"Aren't you asking this because of Padme?" Obi-Wan sounded surprised too._

 _Anakin laughed._

 _"I suppose that it would seem like that. But no. I mean… She's pretty, and I do kind of like her… but…"_

 _"But what, Anakin?"_

 _"Nothing. It's just a question."_

The next flower was quiet.

 _"Obi-Wan… If you could make the decision between doing what others think is right, and doing what you know in your heart is right… what would you do?"_

 _"It… depends on the situation…" Obi-Wan sounded uncomfortable with this subject matter._

 _"You know what this is about." Anakin was speaking quietly._

 _"I… I don't know Anakin. Let's just try to get out of here."_

 _"Is this about Satine?" Anakin asked, part accusatory, part simply curious._

 _"What?" Obi-Wan sounded surprised._

 _"Satine. I can see you two flirting every time you're in the same room. It's practically sickening."_

 _"'I suppose that it would seem like that. But no. I mean… She's pretty, and I do kind of like her… but…'" Obi-Wan mimicked Anakin._

 _"Ha ha Obi-Wan. But if it's not Satine, then…?"_

 _"You never told me who you were talking about if not about Padme."_

 _"True."_

Neither said anything for quite a while. Luke was very invested in the conversation at this point.

 _"Whoever it is…" Anakin started, "Do you love them?"_

 _"Why do you care?"_

 _"You're my… friend, Obi-Wan." He snorted, "Not like I'd get you in trouble. Come on, I've pretty much broken every rule of the Jedi code."_

 _"To be honest, I try not to think about it that much." Obi-Wan sounded somewhat resigned to be talking about this._

 _"What is that supposed to mean?"_

 _"Well I just kind of keep it in the back of my mind. I've kind of accepted it now. I know that it's there, but I keep it away so that I don't act on it."_

 _"Is that what you think that I should do?"_

 _"It depends on whether you've accepted that you love her."_

There was silence for a couple minutes.

 _"I don't know if I love… If I'm in love."_

 _"Well how do you feel around her?"_

 _Anakin sounded uncomfortable. "When I'm with… them, I feel happy. I like their company. I feel like I would do anything to make them happy too. I feel powerful. Like I could do anything. They're… very beautiful, and they pretend that they know that, but I don't think that he really thinks-" Anakin cut himself off abruptly as he realized his mistake._

 _"Oh."_

Another long stretch of silence followed, and Luke's eyes were wide, realizing that this was his father speaking.

 _"It doesn't mean that I don't like girls. Just… that I kinda like guys too…"_

 _"I see. Well. Me too."_

 _"Really?" Anakin was clearly shocked._

 _"Yes." Obi-Wan laughed._

 _"What are you laughing about?"_

 _"Well, don't tell anyone I said this, but Qui-Gon and I both acknowledged that we shared a mutual… attraction."_

 _"_ Qui-Gon _and you?!"_

 _"…Yes. Don't make me regret telling you that."_

 _"Yeah, but_ Qui-Gon _?"_

 _"Oh shut up."_

 _"But he's… old."_

 _Obi-Wan burst out laughing. "He was much younger when I knew him just after finishing my training. And much better looking too."_

 _Anakin sounded like he was choking on something. "I did_ not _need to know that."_

 _"So is that enough information in exchange for the knowledge of who you're pining over?"_

 _"Did you two ever… you know."_

 _There was a loud_ thump _and Anakin shouted out in pain._

 _"_ No. _We acknowledged the attraction, and that was that. Honestly Anakin, you say you're disgusted by me saying that Qui-Gon was more attractive in his younger years, and then you ask me that?"_

 _"I was just asking…" Anakin mumbled._

 _"So after_ that _, you'd better tell me who this is that you might be in love with."_

The next flower was quiet, as though Anakin was weighing his options.

 _"I can't."_

 _"And why not? Come on, you thought that was awkward for you, think how_ I _felt."_

 _"…Like you said. Try to put it out of your mind. Don't think about it. I don't want to talk about it."_

 _"Fine. Don't tell me then." Obi-Wan's voice was dripping with sarcasm._

 _"It's not like you were going to tell me about who you're in love with." Anakin sounded indignant._

 _"Fine." Obi-Wan snapped, "You want to know?_

 _"…" Anakin paused, "Yes."_

 _Obi-Wan sighed. "I supposed you were bound to find out eventually."_

 _"What is that supposed to mean?"_

 _"You, Anakin. I fell in love- I've fallen in love- with… you."_

The next flower was silent, and Luke was in complete shock. He didn't know how to feel.

 _"I'm sorry, Anakin. Like I said, I'm keeping all feelings in the back of my mind. Nothing will ever come of them."_

 _"…You're being serious?"_

 _"I… I am." Obi-Wan sounded like he was seriously considering lying and pretending that he was just joking._

 _"Well."_

 _"Are you… smiling, Anakin?"_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because that means that I can do this."_

Luke furrowed his eyebrows, not entirely certain what that was supposed to mean. He moved onto the next flower, hoping it would give him some sort of indication as to what his father had done.

 _"...You just kissed me."_

Luke startled back from the flower, and stared at it in shock. This had to be a joke. His _dad_? _Darth Vader_? And _Obi-Wan_? Part of him wanted to continue on, but another part was still rather invested in this conversation. He moved on to the next flower with uncertainty.

 _"Yeah. I did."_

 _"You shouldn't have done that. It's against the Jedi code."_

 _Anakin gave a bark of laughter. "Fuck the code, Obi-Wan. Remember what I asked you? About doing what other people think is the right thing to do, and doing what you know in your heart is the right thing to do? I don't care about those other people. Yoda can go fuck himself!"_

 _"Anakin!" Obi-Wan sounded appalled._

 _"Obi-Wan. Come on. You have to know that that part of the code is complete bullshit. Being with you… It makes me stronger. It makes me want to fight harder. I'd be a better Jedi if I could be with you. Together. We work in harmony. As a couple, we could work harder. Our emotion would be peaceful. Our passion would be serene. We would work together, with the Jedi code. Only that part, about how Jedi cannot be in relationships was bullshit. The Jedi council is afraid, contradictory to their own code. They're afraid of anything going wrong, so they ban_ every tiny thing _that could cause trouble. It's bullshit."_

 _"Anakin, I know it is, but we're Jedi. This, this can't happen." Obi-Wan sounded like he was in pain._

 _"Then let's not be Jedi. We're stranded in a cave, Obi-Wan. Nobody knows where we are. We could run off, no one would find us. We could be_ happy _, Obi-Wan."_

 _"No Anakin. I'm sorry."_

 _"Don't you want to be happy?"_

 _"I do. But… We can't be happy together. I know it's not fair, Anakin, but it's just not meant to be. I wish that it could work, but…"_

 _"No…" Anakin sounded slightly distraught. "How is it not meant to be?"_

 _"Come on. We have to get back to the others."_

 _"No we don't Obi-Wan. We can go, find an island in the middle of nowhere. It'll be our happily ever after."_

 _"No Anakin." Obi-Wan sounded stern, but sad. "You're supposed to be a Jedi. You have to restore order to the force. You have to go back to train Ahsoka."_

Luke heard the faint sound of a kiss.

 _"I love you, Anakin. But we can't do this. It isn't meant to be. We will always have this, but it can't continue. We're Jedi."_

Luke stepped back from the Echo Flower, thoughts bouncing around in his head. His dad was in love with Obi-Wan? He slowly leaned his head in to the next flower, to hear what Anakin had to say.

 _"I love you." He sounded heartbroken._

 _"Shh, Anakin, don't cry. I'm not going anywhere. We'll still see each other. This isn't the end. It's just a new chapter. Shh… Don't cry. Anakin. Don't cry…"_

 _"I've lost_ everything _, Obi-Wan. I lost my home, I lost my mother, hell I lost my fucking hand. And now I'm losing you."_

 _"You're not going to lose me, Anakin. You'll have to try harder than_ that _to get rid of me."_

 _"I've lost my chance of happiness with you, then. And it's all the fucking Jedi's fault. I'm starting to wonder whether I'm really supposed to be a Jedi. Whether I even_ want _to be a Jedi anymore."_

 _"No Anakin!" Obi-Wan sounded alarmed. "Please. Stay."_

 _"I… I want to stay. But I can't do this anymore. I want to stay with you, but I can't take the fucking 'Jedi code' anymore. I love you, Obi-Wan. And if the Jedi say that that's not allowed. That that's_ wrong _somehow. Then maybe I don't want to be a Jedi anymore."_

 _"But… You need to restore-"_

 _"No, Obi-Wan. I don't want to be the fucking 'chosen one'. I don't want to 'restore order to the force'. I just want to live a normal life. I want to be allowed to love who I love. I want… I want to_ live. _Because whatever the Jedi have me doing right now, this isn't living. I'm being chased into caves by giant creatures, I'm nearly getting killed every day."_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"When I was back on Tatooine, with my mother, and I was just a child. I would dream of winning a pod race, and getting off of that planet, becoming famous, and letting my mother free. As I got older, what I wanted most in life got more and more reasonable. Soon I just wanted to free my mom. But then she was killed by the Tuscan Raiders. Now, what I want seems like it would be so easy, but it's nearly impossible. I just want to be happy. That's all I want. And for a few moments just now, I was. I was happy because I thought that we could be together, I thought that we could work, and that I could finally achieve my only goal in life. But the Jedi code fucked that up for me. Tell me this, Obi-Wan, why should the Jedi council get to stop me from being happy?" Anakin's tone took a dark turn at the end._

 _"They_ shouldn't _, but that doesn't mean that you can disobey them. Anakin, my worst fear is losing you, and I would do anything to prevent that from happening. The Jedi council would be disgusted with me if they found out. I_ agree _with you Anakin. When I'm fighting alongside you, I feel stronger. And I can still do that, just so long as nobody knows about this. Because if they do, they'll never let us stay together, and work together. I_ know _that they're afraid, Anakin. But there is nothing we can do about it at this point. So we're going to get out of this cave, and we'll keep these memories with us for the rest of our lives, but we won't- we can't speak of this ever again."_

 _There was the sound of one kissing the other._

 _"I'm so sorry Anakin."_

There were no more Echo Flowers.


	2. Chapter 2

_I should have killed him._ The thought burned in Obi-Wan's mind. He hated himself for it. He'd said that he wouldn't kill Anakin, that he couldn't, but now… If someone gave him a second chance, Obi-Wan would be so conflicted. On the one hand, he could save countless lives. But on the other hand, he couldn't kill his former Padawan. He was 100% certain that he couldn't.

It wasn't even that he wouldn't. He couldn't. He loved Anakin. Truly loved him. However fucking illegal it was. He couldn't kill the man he loved.

Fuck the code, Anakin had once told him. And Obi-Wan truly wanted to. (Perhaps replace the code in the statement with Anakin, but he'd never say that out loud). But he wanted to run off with Anakin and set up on that they'd gotten lost in. He truly did, and the only thing that kept him from doing exactly that was the goddamn code that was the _reason_ that they'd be running away.

 _I should have killed Anakin when I had the chance._ It haunted him day and night, and he spent countless hours up crying thinking it. What kind of thought was that? He should have killed the man that he loved? Who even does that? He should _not_ have killed Anakin. He had no way of knowing that Anakin was going to turn out being the single worst Sith lord in the entire galaxy. (That thought made him want to throw up).

And yet with all of his guilt, and internal bickering, he'd still left Anakin to die in a lake of lava. He thought that Anakin was going to die because of something he'd done. And he thought that was better than killing him outright. Putting him out of his misery. He let Anakin suffer in that lake of fire.

Obi-Wan hated himself. For killing Anakin. For not killing Anakin. A part of Obi-Wan himself died that day. The day that he'd had to leave Anakin by the lava, with seemingly no way of escape.

But a long time had passed, until finally he met Luke. And he died a little more inside. He reminded him a lot of Anakin. He was brave and reckless, but he was also kind and sweet. And being so similar to Anakin was terrible for Obi-Wan. Because Obi-Wan saw now terrified that something similar to what happened to Anakin was going to happen to Luke. Because fuck that. Obi-Wan refused to let that happen.

But when he went with Luke, and ended up on the Death Star, and he could feel Anakin's presence, Obi-Wan knew that he was going to die. He knew that he was going to have to confront Darth Vader, and he still refused to kill Anakin.

"Anakin, what happened to you?"

"I haven't been called that in a long time."

Obi-Wan's heart broke. "This isn't you Anakin. This is what Palpatine did to you." He sighed, "'You, Anakin. I fell in love- I've fallen in love- with… you.'" He quoted himself. Darth Vader stopped.

"You recognize that? Do you remember? You kissed me Anakin. You told me to fuck the code. That Yoda could go fuck himself. You said we should run away together. You _loved_ me, Anakin. I still love Anakn. I love _Anakin._ Because you are not Anakin. This right here is Darth Vader. Do you remember the feelings that you had for me? Because I'm willing to forgive you." Darth Vader's breathing sped up. And he pulled his lightsaber.

"God Anakin, you don't have to do this."

"I'm not Anakin. You killed him."

Obi-Wan dropped his lightsaber to the floor. "Kill me then. Because I have no reason to live anymore." He could physically feel tears on his face, but he couldn't feel anything anymore.

Darth Vader stepped forward. And he thrust his lightsaber through Obi-Wan's torso. Obi-Wan fell to his knees, and grabbed onto Darth Vader's arm.

"If Anakin is anywhere in there. I still love him."

And then he died.


	3. Chapter 3

Obi-Wan woke as a force ghost. He felt hallow. Emotionally and physically. He still felt like crying. Yoda was there.

"Vader killed you he did."

"Yes."

"Force ghost you are now."

"I guess."

"Okay, are you?"

"No."

"Oh? But completely dead you are not."

"I lost him Master Yoda. I truly lost him."

"Lost him a long time ago you did."

"I know. But I truly knew that I lost my Anakin today."

"Yours Anakin is not."

"The Anakin that I knew. The Anakin that I loved."

"Like a brother he was to you I know. Sorry I am."

"A brother? No. That might be what I said to you back then, but now it doesn't make a difference. I truly loved Anakin. Like a partner, and lover, and a husband, and a friend."

Yoda looked startled. He didn't seem to have anything to say to that.

"And _Anakin_ loved me too." He smiled tentatively and sadly. "But Anakin is dead now. I killed him." His voice became harsh and cold.

"Against the code that was."

Obi-Wan laughed without any humor. "You know what? You can go fuck yourself, Yoda. I just died, any hope that I might have had that Anakin was still there just died. And then, _then_ , you tell me that 'against the code it was' for Anakin and I to love each other? For fucks sake, do you not think we knew that? Because we _did._ That's why nothing ever came of us. Because I gave a shit about the code back then, and Anakin didn't. Because Padme didn't care, and I did. So fuck you because I don't need this right now."

And Yoda _really_ didn't know what to say to that. Obi-Wan huffed.

"Well. Sorry I am then." Yoda said after a while.

Obi-Wan blinked. He didn't expect Yoda to apologize. Perhaps Yoda had grown soft in old age.

"So. You don't mind? About Anakin?"

"Accept you I shall if the light side does."

"Thank you."

Obi-Wan let a few moments pass. "So this is what death is like? Is it supposed to feel this hollow, or is that just me?"

"Get used to it soon you will."

Obi-Wan looked off into the distance, and he blinked back tears. Somehow hearing Vader tell him that Anakin was dead was so much worse than just knowing that Anakin was dead. Hearing it from his own mouth just tore Obi-Wan apart.

"I wanted to die." He said suddenly. Yoda looked at him, confused.

"I couldn't do it. I loved Anakin, and hearing Darth Vader tell me that Anakin was dead, and that it was my fault… I already knew that it was my fault but hearing him tell me that _he_ blamed me… I couldn't stand the idea of living anymore. Why did the force let me live on like this, when I didn't _want_ to live?"

"In mysterious ways the force works."

"That helps." Obi-Wan drawled sarcastically. Yoda shrugged. Obi-Wan sighed.

"I want to see Luke. I want to see how he's doing on his journey.

"Sad he is to see you died."

Obi-Wan smiled sadly again. "He's just like his father."

"Darth-"

"Darth Vader is not Luke's father. Anakin was."

"But-"

"Just... please don't. Darth Vader is nothing like Anakin. Like he told me, Anakin is dead, and I killed him. It just so happened that when Anakin died, Darth Vader was born. Now I just want to see Luke."

"Interfere you cannot. Too dangerous it is."

"I know that. I just want to see him."

So Yoda showed him Luke. Showed him mourning Obi-Wan. Showed him escaping the Death Star, alive. Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Luke was able to escape the death that had befallen Obi-Wan himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Anakin wasn't dead. He was buried. Buried under the Sith lord that senator Palpatine created. It was as if he was being possessed by a powerful demon. As if he were watching a movie that he could feel and touch, but couldn't control. He hated it. He had to watch as his own hands killed the man that he loved, and that last wisp of who he was nearly drifted away along with him. But somehow, the fact that Obi-Wan had still loved him kept him cemented to 'life'. Because knowing that, he just hated himself even more, and knew that he had to destroy Darth Vader.

He should have died. Anakin knew that he should have been killed back at the lake of lava where he'd battled Obi-Wan. He was already gone back then. He wished that Obi-wan would have killed him. That way he wouldn't have to go through with this. But he didn't blame Obi-Wan for anything. He only blamed himself.

But it all changed with Luke. He never thought that he and Padme's children had lived. Suddenly he was able to break through the barrier of Darth Vader that Paplatine built. He felt the warmth of the light side for just a few moments before welcoming the chill of death.

Except he woke up. He felt confused, but for some reason he wasn't afraid. He felt a presence that he hadn't felt for a long time.

"Obi-Wan?" The strange feeling of being incorporeal was forgotten for a moment as he turned to look to where he could sense Obi-Wan.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's eyes went wide. "You- you're- it's _you._ " Anakin didn't hesitate. He walked over and pulled Obi-Wan into a tight embrace.

"I do still love you Obi-Wan." He said, unable to keep it in anymore. Obi-Wan pulled back to look at Anakin, his eyes gleaming with love, and happiness, and tears.

"I still love you too."

"I know." Anakin's eyes were beginning to fill with tears as well. "Hey Obi-Wan."

"What?"

"You're old."

Obi-Wan started laughing and crying, all at once, so many emotions flooding him that he couldn't distinguish one from another. "You're back." And he kissed Anakin. Putting all of his feelings into it. And Anakin was kissing him back, tears flowing down both of their faces, and mixing together making it impossible to tell who's were who's.

When they finally pulled back, Anakin gasped. "You're back." He motioned at Obi-Wan's face. And so he was. Obi-Wan pulled at his face, suddenly absent of the wrinkles that had been there for years. His beard was fuller and no longer the light silver that it had been, instead a darker grey that would have obviously been the reddish brown that it had been in life.

"Recognizes the age of your heart the force does." Anakin jumped back from Obi-Wan upon hearing Yoda's voice. Obi-Wan looked sheepish. "Um." Obi-Wan said quietly so that only Anakin could hear him. "He knows, Anakin. I might have told him, then told him to go fuck himself when he said that it was against the Jedi code." Anakin's eyes widened in fear.

"Then he apologized."

Anakin laughed, still somewhat fearful, "What?"

"I think he's gone soft in old age."

"Hey, you're old too."

"Not anymore."

"Ha. You're still an old man."

And just like they slipped back into their old banter. Somehow just being in each other's presence reverted them back to when they were younger, before anything had happened. Back when they had hope, and light. Back when they were happy.

But now they had hope again. And light. And they were happy again.


End file.
